Note: The following news release was submitted to Saucon Source by Saucon Valley School Board candidate Shamim Pakzad, who is cross-filed to run in the primary election. A total of eight candidates–including two incumbents–are running for four open seats on the board. All have been invited to share a statement about why they are running along with a brief biography and photo.
I am a parent, a district homeowner and taxpayer, and an educator. My wife and I settled in the Lehigh Valley and Lower Saucon nine years ago and are blessed with two sons, 8 and 6, who are both public school students.
Professor Shamim Pakzad teaching at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
I am running for the school board because I passionately believe in education and in particular in public education as one of the most important elements to glue and grow a community, a city and a nation. I realize that children are different and have different needs, and parents are the ones who should choose how to educate their kids. But at the core of a successful educational system should be a vibrant public school that addresses the needs of the children, gives them the opportunity to prosper and prepares them to achieve their highest potentials. The core message of my campaign is to “Raise the Bar for Everyone.” Each child deserves to learn something new every day and be challenged according to his/her individual needs. To look at the failings of the educational system and blame them on demographics and family income level is not a positive approach and does not result in finding credible solutions.
I am a teacher, my father was a teacher and his father was a teacher, too. I have been an educator for the past 25 years, starting as a high school tutor when I was in college, and now am a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of Graduate Studies for my department at Lehigh University. I have taught at some of the best institutions of higher education: University of California at Berkeley as an instructor, Lehigh University as a professor and Federal Technical University of Switzerland in Zurich as a guest professor. I have been a leader and member of numerous committees that worked on various aspects of educational policy. I have mentored students from Lehigh Valley’s high schools for summer internships, instructed K-12 students from several schools in the area for science and engineering camps and hosted kids from underrepresented groups in my lab and classes for tours, demonstrations and hands-on experiments.
I have been a taxpayer in this district before I became a parent. A district that collects the highest tax rates should be able to deliver an exemplary level of educational environment that is recognized by the public; SVSD needs to live up to that expectation. The failure to do so hits us, the taxpayers, twice in our pockets: we pay the highest taxes in Lehigh Valley, but the value of our homes does not grow proportionately. The main problem with our system is not lack of money and it cannot be resolved by raising taxes. Many of the problems are created because the district has ignored simple and common sense solutions. This needs to change.
If elected, I pledge to work with anyone who is willing to look for innovative solutions to these problems. I am an engineer. The engineering background equips me well to focus on problems and systematically create workable solutions for them. I am an educator. I understand the issues and nuances of a successful educational institution, and can use my training, experience and expertise to make the school work better for the students and the taxpayers.
